Within the dramatic setting of Grand Central Terminal, the New York Transit Museum gift shop and information center showcases the Transit Authority by heightening awareness of on-going improvement in transit services, while generating revenue to support the museum's programs. The store's sign, a vibrant urban mural by Brian Cronin, acts as a beacon drawing passengers across the main concourse.

Modular display cabinets are fabricated from surplus stock from the Transit Authority's yards – sheet metal, rivets, plywood and cross sections of rail – which naturally relate to the mechanical atmosphere of transportation in New York City. Installed by the Transit Authority's craftspeople, the shop's design incorporates historical artifacts from the museum's collection, lending the space a feeling of historical context.

A newly designed mobile shop in the form of carts will accommodate the permanent shop during a three-year renovation of Grand Central Terminal. The shape of the five self-contained units suggest the engine and wagons of trains. All are completely mobile and adaptable to a variety of uses and locations, including the representation of the Transit Authority at conventions and trade shows.

CREDITS...

• New York City Transit Museum
• Drenttel Doyle Projects

JURY COMMENTS...

With the charge of improving the MTA facilities and sources for its ridership, these projects are a successful collaboration of an institutional client, innovative and resourceful design, and the Transit Authority's talented craftspeople and artisans. This transformation of utilitarian materials identified with subway vernacular results in contemporary form conveying future progress.